Developer’s interest in vacant Annapolis County schools leads council to Scotland

Annapolis County CAO John Ferguson says developer Edward Farren held his cards close to his vest. When asked what sort of plans he had in mind for development in Annapolis County, he asked them to travel to northern Scotland so he could better explain. In the end, he had secured the first and only franchise for the famous international boarding school Gordonstoun. The $62-million school will be built in Annapolis County. - Lawrence Powell

BRIDGETOWN, N.S. - When the folks at the Municipality of Annapolis County asked Edward Farren what sort of project he was interested in developing in Annapolis County, Farren took them to Scotland to explain.

Warden Timothy Habinski, his council, and county staff knew Farren was interested in vacant, surplus schools because he’d asked about them. He even toured Bridgetown Regional High School. But the New Brunswick businessman held his cards close to the vest.

That a Gordonstoun Schools Limited franchise would eventually come from those talks wasn’t on anybody’s radar – not even Farren’s. And yet a $62-million Gordonstoun Nova Scotia appears to be in the offing and the 600-student Grade 9 to 12 international boarding school will be built in three phases somewhere between Bridgetown and Annapolis Royal.

“The initial concept was not disclosed when Mr. Farren asked the county about the Annapolis Royal Academy,” said county CAO John Ferguson. “He thought the building was very beautiful. And he asked if there was any purpose for it now. At the time I said Annapolis Royal had actually embarked on a development project to turn it into condominiums and at that time was just getting traction. So he said, ‘Oh, so there is something going on with that.’”

When Farren checked back a year later and asked about the Academy project, Ferguson got curious.

Ferguson told him about the Bridgetown school and Farren was interested for reasons Ferguson said weren’t apparent at the time.

Began Discussions

“So that began the initial discussion on a concept for this school,” Ferguson said. “We still didn’t know what it was. Mr. Farren then came over and described his concept in confidence and explained that ‘we will need to travel to northern Scotland so that I can better explain how this will unfold.’”

Ferguson said they agreed to go.

“We thought the initial idea would be a game changer for Annapolis County if we could get it off the ground,” the CAO said. “So we went to Gordonstoun. We met with the principal and a board member there. And upon leaving that meeting, the principal Lisa Kerr, asked Mr. Farren to stop for a second and wanted to talk to him. This was after Mr. Farren described how he would approach this process and try to emulate what Gordonstoun does. She asked Mr. Farren if he would consider being the first franchise of Gordonstoun.”

Officials from Gordonstoun toured the Bridgetown site, and while they thought the school was a very well-built, they were concerned about it being close to the river as it relates to the Gordonstoun model, and also its proximity to a community.

“Gordonstoun is designed to be somewhat rural – not to be too far away from a local town but still be rural,” said Ferguson. “We understood that concepts from Gordonstoun would come into play, and ultimately they would maintain their ability to approve any property and/or site that Gordonstoun would allow this franchise to operate with.”

Other Properties

Ferguson said 11 other properties were considered, roughly 100 acres in size, and those were narrowed down to three somewhere between Bridgetown and Annapolis Royal.

How did Ferguson feel when a Gordonstoun franchise in Annapolis County became a real possibility?

“Humbled and hopeful for an economic change that will be everlasting in Annapolis County,” Ferguson said. “A foundational school such as Gordonstoun is something that will last hundreds of years. It’s a solid economic foundation to purchase and interact locally with your community. Six hundred students, 75 teachers, 35 to 40 maintenance people, and cooks, and caretakers of the facilities and the lawns.”

He said students will also be volunteers with local fire departments, local seniors homes, and help all those organizations that struggle with volunteerism.

“It is an economic engine that deals with building human capital, social capital, manufactured capital, taking advantage of all the local capital that’s in Annapolis County,” said Ferguson. “They want to spend and interact with the local community. It’s just a phenomenal economic piece.”

Economic Driver

Ferguson expects small businesses will benefit in a big way.

“The mom-and-pop businesses will come back,” he said. “When you consider the bedding of 600 beds will have to be changed and rotated probably two or three times a week, and the student uniforms will have to be cleaned two or three times a week. I think there are local businesses that would be interested in dealing with that problem.”

While it is not known what direct revenue advantage the county might receive from the establishment of Gordonstoun Nova Scotia, Ferguson considers its very existence a win for the region.

“Ultimately the economic multiplier of that facility being in our community is exponentially terrific,” he said.

For example, families of students sometimes move to the vacinity of such boarding schools while their children are enrolled.

“That’s a cultural characteristic of certain countries that when their kids are going away to school for four years they will buy property near to those communities so that they can be here while their children are going to school,” he said. “Their kids still live at the dormitory.”

Local Students

While most of the students at Gordonstoun will come from around the world, the Nova Scotia franchise won’t forget Annapolis County youth.

“There’s also going to be a scholarship program set up for 10 local Nova Scotians, all costs paid to go to the school each year,” Ferguson said.

Conversely, it’s hoped that graduates from the boarding school might go to local universities and stay here and live here.

“Be future leaders in our community and to have a humble and confident approach to how they move Annapolis County forward in the future,” he said.

And what’s not to like?

“When Gordonstoun officials came here, they absolutely loved the landscape. The area was absolutely beautiful,” Ferguson said. “We pointed out that National Defence had set up the cadet program here and sailing in the Annapolis River, and that was of great interest to have that in close proximity because sailing is a big part of developing youth as part of the Gordonstoun student body.”

Ferguson said Gordonstoun is very serious about sailing.

“As part of their final outdoor adventure experience they have to navigate the pole – the North Pole,” he said. “They spend a month on board a ship navigating the pole – to give them courage, to teach them to be humble and courageous. So that they have to overcome obstacles and they have to keep trying. This is what they try to instill in students.”